Toy figure simulating a jump shot

ABSTRACT

An easy to manufacture toy figure ( 10 ) for throwing balls or other aerial projectiles by emulating a jump shot in simulated games such as basketball. Resilient means ( 12 ) may be bent or compressed and then released to rebound substantially to their original form and position with speed sufficient to throw an aerial projectile ( 15 ) placed upon a body of animate shape ( 13 ) linked or attached directly or via said resilient means to supporting base ( 11 ). Said resilient means may be provided by a coil, leaf or other type of spring, or by a resilient or elastic material forming a part of the body or the base. Said animate body ( 13 ) may be designed to resemble popular ballplayers or imaginary animate shapes for marketing purposes, including player numbers on club color uniforms, with fixed or rotatable arms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the utility patent application Ser. No.10/384,515, filed Mar. 7, 2003, now abandoned.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not applicable.

SEQUENCE LISTINGS

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of simulated games using an aerial projectile, popularwith children and adults alike, are known in the art. The projectile isusually propelled by a simple catapult or a spring launcher, whichsometimes replace a simulated ballplayer figure at the time of shootingthe projectile toward a goal. Neither the launchers nor theirsubstitution for a player figure at a critical point in the gamesimulate the reality very convincingly. While figures used in simulatedgames using a surface projectile often mimic the live action fairlywell, figures devised for games using an aerial projectile, such asbasketball, were so far much less successful.

Many simulated game inventions propose a catapult or a launcher: U.S.Pat. No. 5,788,242 (Rudell et al., 1998) shows a TWO SIDED BASKETBALLGAME with two simple launchers. U.S. Pat. No. 2,878,801 to Patchin etal. (1959) discloses a vertical TOY CATAPULT DEVICE with a horizontalsupport for rectangular projectiles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,203,990 to R. J.Haynur (1940) proposes a multiplayer GAME APPARATUS using a moldedspring launcher and a projectile with parallel faces indicating a playboard position for the next player. U.S. Pat. No. 1,612,699 to C. de V.Cole (1926) for a BASKET-BALL GAME has multiple player pieces, moving torandom positions on the play board determined by a roll of dice,replaced for attempts at scoring by a catapult resembling an artillerypiece. U.S. Pat. No. 731,850 to R. S. Bradbury (1903) discloses a GAMEwhereby a blade-spring launcher shoots a ball toward multiple baskets.

LEGO Sports sells HUMAN-LIKE TOY FIGURES based on U.S. Pat. No.6,837,769 to Skov et al. (2005) with a coil spring connecting torso toits legs part, allowing the figure to ‘chest-slam’ a ball. U.S. Pat. No.6,171,169 to Saunders (2001) discloses an ARTICULATED TOY FIGURESIMULATING BASKET-BALL PLAY using a spring-loaded mechanism with atrigger and latch to swing an arm forward and downward, flinging a balltoward a basket. U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,758 to F. D. Carson uses a humanfigure shaped BALL CATAPULTING DEVICE with arms propelled by an elasticstrip pulled crank to throw balls either upward from around its knees,or overhead backwards. U.S. Pat. No. 1,433,335 to K. Bensch (1922)discloses a BASKET-BALL TOY using figures with spring-loaded armsholding a cup, pulled by strings to shoot a ball. Probably the mostrealistically acting prior art figure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,690,330 to Ozawa (1997.) It shows a TOY BASKETBALL GAME WITHSELF-JUMPING PLAYER ejected from a stationary base and releasing theball on contact with the basket rim, simulating a so-called ‘slam dunk.’None of the known figures simulates a player executing a jump shot or ahook shot, perhaps the most common shooting actions in basketball,handball and other games using an aerial projectile.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides an easy to manufacture andinexpensive toy figure simulating a jump shot, a hook shot and a ballpass for simulated games using aerial projectiles, such as basketballand others. Several objects and advantages of the present invention areto provide such toy figure, more particularly:

-   -   1. to provide a toy figure throwing serial projectiles using the        energy supplied by resilient means in the form of a coil, leaf        or other type of spring, or the energy of a resilient or elastic        material forming a part of the figure or of its supporting base,        said toy figure having either fixed or rotatable arms;    -   2. to provide said toy figure that may be made or decorated for        marketing purposes to resemble real-life ball-players including        club uniforms, or animals, imaginary literary, movie and other        characters; and    -   3. to provide a method of playing a simulated basketball game        using at least one said toy figure, where the figures in a game        may be either all of the same type or the various designs        described in the present invention can be used for different        game positions.        Further objects and advantages of the present invention will        become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description        and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

In the drawings, closely related figures or parts have the same numberbut different alphabetic suffixes.

FIG. 1A shows a toy figure with fixed arms, energized by a leaf springinclined from horizontal:

FIG. 1B shows a similar figure with rotatable arms and connecting meansto rotate them.

FIGS. 1C to 1E show various kinds of resilient means for use with e.g.FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 5.

FIG. 2 presents a similar figure with a curved leaf spring.

FIG. 3 shows another toy figure using a tension coil spring, withforearms rotated forward by a string.

FIG. 4 shows a similar toy figure with a compression coil spring andarms rotated by a shaft.

FIG. 5 presents a ‘executive toy’ version with a ball shooting hand on aleaf spring.

FIG. 6 shows a unified figure where resilient means=tentaclespring+resilient material of body section.

FIG. 7 shows a toy figure with both body and resilient means linked tothe base.

FIG. 8 shows a version of a tabletop basketball game using the toyfigures in FIGS. 1 through 4.

FIG. 9 shows a version of dice used to randomly select the next gameaction.

Reference numerals in drawings 10, 85 Toy figure 11, 21, 31, Base 11pPosts housing the 41, 51, 61, 71 axle 19 12, 52 Leaf spring 12a Leafspring - 12b Rigid platform deformed 12c, 12f, 42, Compression coilspring 12d Torsion coil spring 62, 72 12e, 22 Curved leaf spring 13, 23,33, Body 14, 24, Arms and Hands 43a, 63, 73 44 15, 25, 35, 45, Ball oraerial projectile 16, 37 Connecting means: 55, 65 string 17, 39 Pin 18,34 Forearm and hand 19 Axle 20, 27, Anchoring means 26, 83 Directionalmarks 74, 75 32 Tension coil spring 36 Elbow pivot 32b Coil spring: bentlower 32a Coil spring: bent 38 Arm elbow upper 43b Compression flange32c As 32b, pushed 47 Connecting means: shaft down 49a Upper pin 40, 64Flange 54 Hand 46 Arm pivot 81 Play board 48 Link 84 Basket, backboard,49b Lower pin 66 Resilient material 82 Positional marks

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS. 1A—A Preferred Embodiment

FIG. 1A shows a preferred embodiment of my invention—a toy FIG. 10simulating jump-shooting and ball passing in games using aerialprojectiles. Said toy figure comprises a base 11, resilient means in theform of a leaf spring 12, and a body 13 in the shape of a ballplayer.Base 11 has a flat bottom surface large enough to provide stability.Spring 12 is attached toward one edge of base 11 and rising in a sharpangle to the horizontal plane over the center of said base, also forstability reasons. Body 13 is coupled to the opposite end of spring 12.Arms and hands 14 of the figure are fixed in a typical raisedjump-shooting position. A ball or other aerial projectile 15 is placedupon hands 14 formed to carry it. Base 11 and body 13 including arms andhands 14 are preferably cast of a plastic or metal material or asuitable equivalent, and are attached to spring 12 by any appropriateanchoring means like glue, screws or other comparable method or castdirectly around the spring as shown here. Spring 12 is formed of atleast one substantially flat piece of a resilient plastic, metal orother material strong enough to withstand repeated flexing and to impartenough force to propel the projectile 15. The material, length,thickness and shape of the leaves, and angle of the spring will affectthe trajectory of the projectile, as will the weight of the projectileand other factors. The projectile 15 may be made to the requirements ofany particular purpose.

Operation of a Preferred Embodiment

A user places said toy FIG. 10 on a suitable surface such as a playboard with court markings and positional or directional indicia.Directional marks can be used to orient the figure toward a target. Theuser places ball 15 upon hands 14 and bends down spring 12 as indicatedby phantom lines 12a, estimating the force necessary to shoot ball 15 adesired distance. When spring 12 is released, it rebounds to itsoriginal position, carrying body 13, hands 14 and ball 15 upward andforward on a curve. At the highest point of the curve the ball 15 isthrown in an arc indicated by the upper arrow.

Other Embodiments

FIGS. 1B to 1E offer some variations of the preferred embodiment: FIG.1B shows a way of adding rotatable forearms 18, here using a string 16and pin 17 in a way described below in FIG. 3. In FIG. 1C the leafspring is replaced by a compression coil spring 12c together with arigid platform 12b rotating around axle 19 terminated in posts 11p. Itis preferable to combine the up-down movement of a substantiallyvertical coil spring with the rotation of the platform (or of the arms,like in FIGS. 3 and 4) to better simulate the action of a ballplayerjumping up and pushing a ball away (shooting) at the same time, while aleaf spring simulates it well by itself since its free end moves on acomplex curve. The spring ends and/or the axle may be anchored to theplatform, the base or both by various means. FIG. 1D shows a similarplatform energized by a torsion coil spring 12d wound around axle 19,with one end of the spring supporting the platform and the other endpressing against the base. FIG. 1E shows four other variations combined:(a) a curved leaf spring 12e attached to base 11 by (b) anchoring means20 (glue, weld, screw, pin, a groove etc.) can be (c) combined withanother spring, here a compression coil spring 12f springing (d) notagainst the base, but against the surface carrying the toy figure.

FIG. 2 presents a similar toy figure with a curved leaf spring 22attached to base 21 by anchoring means 27 and glued to body 23 carryingball 25 placed onto hands 24. To shoot, a user bends spring 22 downwardas indicated by phantom lines, while holding the base. When the springis released, the ball will be thrown on a short, steep shooting arc.This type of toy figure may be positioned near basket in a simulatedbasketball game, shooting the ball in a way resembling the action of acenter or a forward. Arms and hands may be formed to simulate a hookshot, with one arm blocking opponents while the other arm throws ball ina high overhead arc. Directional marks 26 may be placed on the base 21.

FIG. 3 shows a partially sectioned view of another type of the figure.Tension coil spring 32 is anchored by its bent upper end 32a to base 31and by its bent lower end 32b to body 33 (anchoring means and resilientmeans are identical.) Each forearm and hand 34 is attached rotatably tothe body at an elbow pivot 36. Connecting means (string 37) is attachedat one end to base 31, goes through a cavity in body 33 around a pin 39located in the shoulder area, and attaches to one forearm and hand 34 atelbow 38.

FIG. 4: the toy figure uses a compression coil spring 42 deformablebetween a compression flange 43b and base 41. Arms and hands 44 rotatearound an arm pivot 46 joining them through a hollow body 43 withinshoulder area. A shaft 47 is attached to said arm pivot 46 by an upperpin 49a and link 48, and to base 41 by a lower pin 49b; together theyform the connecting means (here identical to anchoring means.) Anoptional flange 40 provides an easier hold for pushing down body 43.Rack and pinion assembly could be also used to translate the verticalmovement of the body into the rotation of the arms.

FIGS. 3 and 4 operate in a similar way (numbers for FIG. 4 are inparentheses): the user presses down body 33 (43) deforming coil spring32 (42) while steadying base 31 (41,) using flange 40 of provided. Afterforearms and hands 34 (arms and hands 44) rotate to a lower positionindicated by phantom lines, the user places a ball 35 (45) upon thehands. When body 33 (43) is released, spring 32 (42) forces the bodyupward while string 37 (shaft 47) force forearms 34 (arms 44) to rotateforward. The combined motion pushes ball 35 (45) upward and forward inan arc indicated by the upper arrows. At the top of the arc the ball 35(45) is thrown toward a goal. Both bodies 33 and 43 are preferably castof a plastic or metal material or a suitable equivalent, with a cavityfor connecting means. Rotatable arms or forearms including hands arepreferably cast of the same material as the body, and attached to thebody by said pivot 36 (46). Said coil spring 32 (42) is formedpreferably of a spring metal wire capable of providing enough force tothrow the ball without being too difficult to deform by an intendedgroup of users. Shaft 47, link 48, pins 39, 49a and 49b are preferablymade of metal for strength and wear resistance.

FIG. 5 shows an ‘executive toy’ similar in function to FIG. 1. A hand 54replaces the ballplayer shaped body 13 of FIG. 1. Base 51, a leaf spring52 and hand 54 can be all formed together of a clear, black or otherwisecolored plastic material or metal, or made of a combination ofmaterials. Spring 52 should be resilient enough to impart sufficientmomentum to a ball 55. A basket with a backward and a stand formed froma similar material may also be provided. Instead of one hand 54, a pairof hands may be used. The spring can be replaced by any of the manypossibilities suggested in FIGS. 1C to 1E.

FIG. 6 shows one of the less obvious variants—a unified figurine of animaginary creature resting on its tail/base 61 and using a two-partresilient means: (1) resilient material 66 forming a part of body 63additionally energized by (2) twisted appendage 62 (a disguised coil orcurved leaf spring) forming together said resilient means supplyingenergy to toss a planet (aerial projectile 65.) A flange 64 (the ‘nose’)is pressed to deform the two-part resilient means (62 and 66) supplyingthe tossing energy.

FIG. 7 presents a toy figure where both body 73 and resilient means(compression coil spring 72) are anchored to base 71, each by differentanchoring means 74 and 75.

FIGS. 1 to 7 show only a small number of the many possible arrangementsof these basic components:

-   -   body of animate shape (including fixed or rotatable extensions,        e.g. arms, tentacles),    -   base, and    -   resilient means (various leaf, coil and other springs, resilient        material, or combinations thereof;    -   linked together in various order by anchoring means limiting the        movement of said body to correspond to the deformation of the        resilient means. Said anchoring means can be either physically        separate (which can be fixed like glue 20, screws etc., or with        at least one degree of freedom such as axle 19 and rigid        platform 12b, pins, joints etc.), or identical to any of the        first three components (e.g. casting around the resilient means        in FIG. 1a, spring ends 32a/32b, all linked into one unit in        FIG. 6, notches or bumps on one fitting into indentations in        another etc.), and    -   supplemented, when desired, by connecting means for rotating an        extension of said body, such as an arm or tentacle supporting        chosen projectile(s), to aid throwing the projectiles.

Even the connecting means and anchoring means can be identical (e.g.string 37 or shaft 47.)

FIG. 8 describes a version of a tabletop play board 81 for a simulatedbasketball game using the toy figures simulating a jump shot or a hookshot described in FIGS. 1 through 6. The board 81 can have eitherhalf-court game markings and one basket, backboard and stand assembly84, or full-court markings partially indicated by dashed lines, with twobasket assemblies on opposite ends of board 81. The game can use one toyfigure of present invention 85 or a plurality of them per team, usingeither one type of figure or different designs for different positions.For example, the toy figure of FIG. 1 could be used for both guardpositions while toy figures shown in FIGS. 2, 3 or 4 would be placed inforward and center positions, one of them based on FIG. 2 simulating ahook shot. The toy figure(s) 85 are placed on positional marks 82 whichmay be replaced by directional marks 83 as shown in positions number 4,5 (under the toy FIG. 85) and 6 on the board 81. Directional marks 83pointing to the center of the basket should be supplemented by matchingdirectional marks 26 as shown on the toy figure in FIG. 2. Thepositional and directional indicia could be variously combined ondifferent sides of board 81, for example to balance different skilllevels of users. The game starts with a draw or a roll of standard diceto decide which user should start—the highest or the lowest roll startsthe game as agreed by users. If only one toy FIG. 85 is used per side,the starting user puts it on the marks 82 or 83 corresponding to thenumber on the dice. If 2 or more FIGS. 85 are used per side (5 as in thereal game of basketball etc.,) the user passes a ball to the figureplace in the corresponding position before starting the game. Rollingnumber 6 on the dice could result in a foul shot from position number 6,or optionally in losing the turn to the next user. Users can take turnsrolling the dice and shooting the ball, or can use the dice described inFIG. 7 to determine the action to be taken next. Score can be keptaccording to the usual basketball rules with one, two or three pointsper shot. A game ends in any way agreed on—a time limit, certain scorereached etc.

FIG. 9 shows a variant of an action die for random determination of thenext action to be taken by a user. If a user rolls P (Pass), the ballshall pass to a position optionally determined by a roll of a standarddie indicating positions 1 through 6. User that rolls S (Shoot) mayattempt shooting at the goal from the position possessing the ball.Rolling T (Turn-over) means the loss of the ball to the next user. The32S-2P-1T probabilities indicated in FIG. 9 can be of course modified.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

Accordingly, the reader will see that the toy figures of the presentinvention simulate more realistically the jump shot or hook shot actionof such aerial projectile games as simulated basketball and others. Thetoy figures are inexpensive to manufacture and can be shaped anddecorated to resemble popular live ballplayers and their game uniforms,animals, literary or other personages and other real or imaginarycharacters providing various marketing opportunities.

While the above description contains specific embodiments of theinvention, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope ofthe invention. Many modifications obvious to those skilled in the artmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Forexample, the toy figure body can be oriented sideways with one tentacleformed to shoot a so-called hook shot; the leaf spring can be variouslyshaped to generate different ball trajectories; a rack and pinionassembly can be used as connecting means in place of a string 37 orshaft 47 to rotate the arms; a spring type from one embodiment can becombined with an arm assembly from another; the body can be cast eithersolid or hollow or hand-carved from an exotic wood in any animate shape,such as an imaginary extraterrestrial being tossing a medium size galaxyand so on.

Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by theappended claims and their legal equivalents.

1. A toy figure for throwing aerial projectiles by simulating a jumpshot, comprising: a. a base of sufficient size to provide stability; b.resilient means deformable essentially vertically for supplying energyto throw the projectiles; c. a body of animate shape urged by saidresilient means to jump up while said resilient means is reboundingsubstantially to its original position and shape after having beendeformed; d. anchoring means to joining said body movably to said baseso as to limit the movement of said body to substantially correspond tothe deformations of said resilient means; e. at least one upper limbattached pivotally to said body, said upper limb being formed to supportand launch the projectiles; and f. connecting means for rotating saidupper limb by translating an essentially vertical movement of said bodyrelative to said base so as to add a horizontal vector to the projectileflight, whereby a realistic simulation of a jump shot is obtained byplacing at least one aerial projectile upon said upper limb, deformingand then releasing said resilient means to propel the projectiles to flyoff said upper limb.
 2. The toy figure of claim 1 wherein said body isformed to resemble at least one hand shaped to support and throw theprojectile.
 3. The toy figure of claim 1 wherein said body is formed anddecorated to resemble a real or imaginary personage.
 4. The toy figureof claim 1 wherein said resilient means is a leaf spring comprisingessentially at least one flat or curved leaf.
 5. The toy figure of claim1 wherein said resilient means is a coil spring of a tension,compression, or torsion type.
 6. The toy figure of claim 1 wherein saidresilient means is the material forming a section of said base or saidbody.
 7. The toy figure of claim 1 wherein said toy figure is outwardlyuniform, wherein parts of the figure perform the functions of said body,said base and said resilient means.
 8. The toy figure of claim 1 whereinsaid resilient means and said anchoring means are identical.
 9. The toyfigure of claim 1 wherein said anchoring means is a direct movableattachment between said body and said base.
 10. The toy figure of claim1 wherein said connecting means and said anchoring means are identical.11. A toy figure for throwing aerial projectiles by simulating a jumpshot, comprising: a. a base of sufficient size to provide stability; b.a body of animate shape having at least one fixed upper limb formed tosupport and throw aerial projectiles; and c. a leaf spring comprisingessentially at least one flat or curved leaf attached at or toward oneedge to said body and at or toward another edge to said base so as tosimulate a jump shot by rebounding, after having been deformed, togetherwith said body substantially to their original shape and position withsufficient speed and momentum to throw aerial projectiles placed uponsaid body, whereby a realistic simulation of a jump shot is obtained byplacing at least one aerial projectile upon said body, deforming andthen releasing said resilient means to propel the projectiles to fly offsaid body.
 12. The toy figure of claim 11 wherein said body is formed toresemble at least one hand shaped to support and throw the projectile.13. The toy figure of claim 11 wherein said body is formed and decoratedto resemble a known ballplayer.
 14. A toy figure for throwing aerialprojectiles by simulating a jump shot, comprising: a. a base ofsufficient size to provide stability; b. a body of animate shape havingat least one fixed upper limb formed to support and launch aerialprojectiles; c. resilient means interposed between said body and anelement selected from the group consisting of said base and a surfacesaid base is resting on, so as to supply energy to said body forthrowing the projectiles by urging said body to jump up; and d.anchoring means for linking pivotally said body and said base so as toadd a horizontal vector to the movement of said body and limit themovement of said body to substantially correspond to the deformations ofsaid resilient means, whereby a realistic simulation of a jump shot isobtained by placing at least one aerial projectile upon said body,deforming and then releasing said resilient means to give impetus tosaid body to throw the projectile.
 15. The toy figure of claim 14wherein said body is formed and decorated to resemble a real orimaginary personage.